Chapter 6

Eli was seething with rage. He never thought that Nicolas, the notorious playboy, would be messing around with some other woman on the very day he was supposed to meet his fiancée. And to make matters worse, his fiancée had caught them in the act. The tension in the study was so thick, one could cut it with a knife.

"Dad, just call off the damn engagement!" Eli snapped, dragging Noelle along as he confronted Vincent. His voice was boiling with anger. "That guy clearly doesn't give a shit about her. He promised to meet Noelle, but instead, he's out there screwing around with other women!"

Vincent's face darkened instantly. Nicolas had just slapped the Anderson family in the face with his actions. But the marriage between the Andersons and the Sawyers wasn't just about love; it was a strategic alliance, a way for both families to secure mutual benefits. Despite the blow to their pride, Vincent wasn't ready to throw everything away over a mere affair.

After a pause, he spoke slowly, his tone firm. "In these high-society marriages, how many couples are actually in love? As long as the Sawyers recognize Noelle as the third young lady of their family, no matter what Nicolas does, it won't change her position."

"Dad!" Eli was boiling with frustration.

Vincent turned to Noelle, his tone firm. "Noelle, you're an Anderson. When it comes to marriage, you can't just think with your heart. You need to look at the bigger picture."

Eli couldn't hold back any longer. His voice cracked with anger. "Then why did you drag your feet when Leia didn't want to marry in the first place?"

"Eli!" Vincent slammed his hand on the desk, his voice deep and commanding. "Leia is Leia, and Noelle is Noelle. You can't compare them! Do you know how much it would hurt Leia to hear you say that?"

Eli was taken aback, his words faltering. He knew deep down he couldn't compare Noelle to Leia. Leia had been their precious little princess, spoiled and loved for years. Noelle, on the other hand, was a stranger who had just returned to the family. But even so, Eli couldn't help feeling this decision was wrong for Noelle. Making her marry that sleazebag was practically a death sentence for her.

"Noelle, what about you?" Vincent shot at her, his anger clear. "If you don't care about the family's honor, then I'll just pretend I don't have a daughter!"

"Dad, are you serious?" Eli fired back, clearly upset.

"I'm good with that," Noelle replied, unfazed by her father's rage. She tilted her head and gave him a mischievous smile. "I actually really like Nicolas. I'm cool with marrying him."

"What?!" Eli almost jumped out of his chair. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "Are you nuts! You want to marry him?"

"Yep," Noelle said with a grin. "He's hot. I'm into him."

"So what if he's hot? The dude's a total mess!" Eli growled, barely holding back from losing his temper. This girl—she's all about the looks, huh? he thought, rolling his eyes.

"So what if he's a mess?" Noelle shrugged, looking totally unbothered. "He can mess around with girls, and I can mess around with guys. It's no big deal."

Eli was completely blindsided. His mind was reeling. Holy shit. She is on a whole different level of open-minded.

Since Noelle had no objections to marrying Nicolas, the whole idea of calling off the engagement was quickly dropped. But Eli's confrontation with Vincent on behalf of Noelle didn't stay quiet for long; it spread like wildfire within the Anderson family.

Darin couldn't resist throwing in his two cents. "Hi, you're a real piece of work. If Leia ends up in any kind of trouble, I'm sure you'd fight to the death for her yourself."

Eli exchanged a fierce look. "It's a shame, though. Eli's trying so hard for Noelle, but she couldn't care less. She's probably mad."

In his family, Eli preferred to preserve dignity, but he finally spoke up, unable to hold back any longer. "Eli, are you out of your damn mind?" His veins were practically popping out of his forehead as he fired back. "He's messing around with other women on the day he's supposed to be meeting her! Someone like him is practically a lifetime sentence for a woman. No matter how much you guys hate Noelle, you can see that, right?"

"But Noelle doesn't care, does she? She's fine with it. So why the hell are you so worked up about it?" Darin shot back, unrelenting.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, just let her ruin herself? She's got no idea what she's getting into!" Eli retorted, feeling like he was stepping in instead of letting her go down this path.

Darin stood there, speechless for a second. Charlie then shot Eli a cold, judgmental look. "Eli, do you really see Noelle as your sister? If Leia found out, she'd be heartbroken."

Eli clenched his fists and lowered his head, his voice low but heavy with emotion. "Charlie, Leia's been crushed after finding out she's not really an Anderson. She's a kind-hearted person. Do you think Leia would stand by and watch Noelle walk straight into a shitshow like this? No matter what you think, if Leia knew how bad Nicolas was, she wouldn't let Noelle marry him. Because she's just that good of a person."

His words hung in the air, and for once, his brothers didn't know what to say.

Outside the room, Leia stood at the door, quietly biting her lip, her face a mix of anger and frustration. She was fighting with their dad over Noelle and was planning to go in and vent. But instead, she overheard Eli practically sticking up for Noelle, she'd look petty and small. No way. She had to remain the sweet, considerate daughter in everyone's eyes. But Eli was siding with Noelle more and more. If she didn't do something, others might start falling for that woman's act, too. And that was something Leia wouldn't tolerate. Not even a fraction, she thought, gritting her teeth.

Later that afternoon, Leia called Noelle to her room. Noelle gaped at the pink, over-the-top decor. "Leia, your room's huge! And everything's pink—it looks amazing!" Compared to her tiny storage closet, this was like a palace.

"Mom and the guys did it. I told them to chill, but they wouldn't listen. I didn't have much choice," Leia said, her voice dripping with feigned superiority.

"Noelle?"

Noelle blinked, confused. Leia walked over and grabbed Noelle's hand, her voice fake and sweet. "I didn't know Eli would be such an asshole. He put you in that storage room. Well, you're the real daughter of the Anderson family—you should've been in this room!"

Noelle's eyes lit up at those words. Realizing Noelle's sudden change, Leia froze for a moment.

Then Noelle grinned at her. "Well, if that's how you feel, let's switch rooms. I'll take this room, and you can move into the storage room."

Leia was left speechless, completely caught off guard.